A high-ranking delegation from Cuba led by First Vice President of the Council of State and the Council of Ministers Salvado Valdes Mesa on September 14 visited the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Hospital in the central province of Quang Binh – a symbol of the friendship between the two countries.

The hospital trip was part of the delegation’s working visit to Vietnam, who primarily came to mark the 45th anniversary of late Cuban leader Fidel Castro’s visit to the liberated zone in the south of Vietnam amidst the Vietnamese people’s resistance war against US imperialists.

In September 1973, during a visit to Quang Tri and Quang Binh provinces, President Fidel Castro decided to give Quang Binh a spacious and modern hospital in order to serve local people and injured soldiers from the war.

The construction of the hospital began on May 19, 1974 and it was put into operation on September 9, 1981 with 462 beds. The facility was considered one of the most modern and synchronous hospitals in Vietnam at that time.

In his speech to welcome the delegation, Director of the Vietnam-Cuba Friendship Hospital Duong Thanh Binh expressed his deep gratitude to the special attention of President Fidel Castro and the Cuban people for the people of Quang Binh.

He stressed that although 45 years have passed, the empathy of President Fidel Castro when he visited Quang Binh is still engraved in the memory of local people, especially the medical staff of the hospital.

The hospital is a valuable gift that Cuba has given to the people of Quang Binh and a beautiful symbol of the solidarity and friendship between Vietnam and Cuba, he said.

In recent years, the hospital has invested in upgrading infrastructure, equipment, and personnel training to improve the quality of medical examination and treatment.

The hospital also invited four Cuban medical experts in the areas of cardiovascular interventions, orthopedics, neurology, and oncology to work officially at the hospital from April 2018, he noted.

Binh highlighted the special attention paid by the two countries’ Parties and Governments, health ministries, and local authorities to the hospital’s development, saying that the hospital’s management board will continue to cooperate and invite more Cuban experts to work there, as well as sending its staff to Cuba to study advanced technologies.

He called for more support from the Parties, Governments, and health ministries of the two countries to help the hospital provide the best healthcare services for its people.

For his part, Salvado Valdes Mesa expressed his joy at visiting the hospital, which was one of the five facilities presented by President Fidel Castro to Vietnam.

He affirmed that Cuba is a small and poor country, but Cuba is willing to cooperate with and support Vietnam with all that it has.

The Cuban official encouraged medical experts from his country working at the hospital to do their utmost to support the hospital in examining and giving treatment to locals.

He expressed his belief that the solidarity and friendship between the two countries will be further strengthened.

The Cuban delegation then laid a wreath at President Fidel Castro’s monument in the hospital.

Salvado Valdes Mesa presented the hospital with a picture featuring President Fidel Castro’s visit to the liberated zone in the south of Vietnam.